peg
noun
a pin of wood or other material driven or fitted into something, as to fasten parts together, to hang things on, to make fast a rope or string on, to stop a hole, or to mark some point.
peg
1 American
[peg]
/ pɛg /
noun
-
pegs
plural
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a pin of wood or other material driven or fitted into something, as to fasten parts together, to hang things on, to make fast a rope or string on, to stop a hole, or to mark some point.
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Informal. a leg, either real or wooden.
still on his pegs at 99.
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a notch or degree.
to come down a peg.
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an occasion, basis, or reason.
a peg to hang a grievance on.
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Music. Also a pin of wood or metal in the neck of a stringed instrument that may be turned in its socket to adjust a string's tension.
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Informal. a throw, especially in baseball.
The peg to the plate was late.
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Economics. the level at which some price, exchange rate, etc., is set.
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British, Indian English. an alcoholic drink, especially a whiskey or brandy and soda.
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British. clothespin.
verb (used with object)
-
pegs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pegged,
past participle, past
-
pegging
present participle
-
to drive or insert a peg into.
-
to fasten with or as with pegs.
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to mark with pegs.
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to strike or pierce with or as with a peg.
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to keep (the commodity price, exchange rate, etc.) at a set level, as by manipulation or law.
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Informal. to throw (a ball).
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Journalism. to base (an article, feature story, etc.) upon; justify by (usually followed byon ).
The feature on the chief of police was pegged on the riots.
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Informal. to identify.
to peg someone as a good prospect.
verb (used without object)
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pegs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pegged,
past participle, past
-
pegging
present participle
-
to work or continue persistently or energetically.
to peg away at a homework assignment.
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Informal. to throw a ball.
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Croquet. to strike a peg, as in completing a game.
adjective
idioms
Peg
2
American
[peg]
/ pɛg /
noun
peg
British
/ pɛɡ /
noun
-
a small cylindrical pin or dowel, sometimes slightly tapered, used to join two parts together
-
a pin pushed or driven into a surface: used to mark scores, define limits, support coats, etc
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music any of several pins passing through the head ( peg box ) of a stringed instrument, which can be turned so as to tune strings wound around them See also pin
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US and Canadian equivalent: clothespin. Also called: clothes peg. a split or hinged pin for fastening wet clothes to a line to dry
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informal a person's leg
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dialect a tooth
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a small drink of wine or spirits, esp of brandy or whisky and soda
-
an opportunity or pretext for doing something
a peg on which to hang a theory
-
a mountaineering piton
-
croquet a post that a player's ball must strike to win the game
-
angling a fishing station allotted to an angler in a competition, marked by a peg in the ground
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informal a level of self-esteem, importance, etc (esp in the phrases bring or take down a peg )
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informal See peg leg
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(of clothes) ready to wear, as opposed to tailor-made
verb
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(tr) to knock or insert a peg into or pierce with a peg
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to secure with pegs
to peg a tent
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mountaineering to insert or use pitons
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(tr) to mark (a score) with pegs, as in some card games
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informal (tr) to aim and throw (missiles) at a target
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(intr; foll by away, along, etc) to work steadily
he pegged away at his job for years
-
(tr) to stabilize (the price of a commodity, an exchange rate, etc) by legislation or market operations
peg
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pegsimple
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pegssimple
-
have peggedperfect
-
has peggedperfect
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am peggingprogressive
-
are peggingprogressive
-
is peggingprogressive
-
have been peggingperfect progressive
-
has been peggingperfect progressive
Past
-
peggedsimple
-
had peggedperfect
-
was peggingprogressive
-
were peggingprogressive
-
had been peggingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of peg
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English pegge (noun), peggen (verb), from Middle Dutch
Explanation
A peg is a bolt or pin that holds something in place or marks a location. When you use peg as a verb, it means to identify someone or something: "I pegged you as a word lover, the first time I laid eyes on you." A coat rack might consist of a line of wooden pegs, and you might also secure a tent by driving metal pegs into the ground to hold it there. When you fasten or pierce something with a peg, you can say you peg it. Informally, if you peg a person, you make a judgment about them: "I'd peg him as a messy housekeeper based on the way his dorm room looks."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“A 60/40 rule can be a square peg in a round hole. A 90/10 rule is just creating a new rule of thumb.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
A massive parasitic outbreak has taken Taco Bell down a peg, and now it has to rebuild its momentum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
NBC News reported that, according to internal estimates by the Defense Department peg the amount at $80 billion to $100 billion.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Insurers wanted Congress to require arbitrators to peg payments to out-of-network providers to their in-network rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Bigwig, still trailing his horrible, smooth peg, staggered up to him and touched his nose with his own.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Peg Ginsberg recalls squad cars speeding past her Main Street watercolor studio the day the groups swarmed the facility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
“When Liam was taken, we had this devastating loss,” Valley View teacher Peg Nelson said.
From Salon ● Mar. 2, 2026
"The labor market came in a little bit better than I came to expect over the last few months," he told The Peg, a Substack page run by journalist Izabella Kaminska.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
"She's still just plain old Peg," said Mrs Middleton.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2024
Peg died in 1760, at the age of forty.
From Superwomen by Albert Payson Terhune
“Talladega Nights” pegs this missing link between America’s urban past and its exurban future from its opening seconds, putting a quote about “hot, nasty, badass speed” in the mouth of New York Swell Eleanor Roosevelt.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Hong Leong maintains an overweight rating on Malaysia’s automotive sector given its resilient earnings and attractive dividend yields, and pegs MBM Resources and Sime Darby as top picks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s survey pegs the decline at about 17.5 percent within city limits during that period.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
Forbes pegs her net worth at roughly $1.9 billion.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
To which I replied, in so many words, that I could hardly carve pegs in rooms too cold for me to take my gloves off.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Sanders pegged voter disaffection on the increasing difficulty and cost of living in the United States.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Morgan’s estimated fair value for July, which it pegged at $87, according to strategists at the investment bank led by Natasha Kaneva.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
It pegged the band, in its members' own words, as "the queer joy mini-skirt rollerblade, external" crew - but their music has always dug deeper than that.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The case is important because Imperial County has pegged its future to lithium, a mineral critical for electric car batteries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
He is wearing his typical band uniform of a T-shirt, skinny pegged pants, and Converse, with Gramps’s plaid scarf draped over his shoulders.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields jumped more than five basis points in overnight trading, pegging the paper at 4.535%, the highest in nearly a year.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Yap maintains a positive view on the Malaysian oil and gas sector, pegging Keyfield and Perdana Petroleum as its top picks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Nvidia, meanwhile, edged 0.2% higher to $199.99 each, pegging its market cap at just over $4.86 trillion.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
Cody was most familiar with Pedretti’s performance in “You,” pegging the actor as an “intense brunet” that didn’t square at first with her interpretation of Cherry as an Anna Nicole Smith type.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
“I suppose you are going to college soon? I see you pegging away at your books, no, I mean studying hard.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
